PM announces initiatives to strengthen Canada-Peru defence and security relations Ottawa, Ontario

Source: http://pm.gc.ca/eng/news/2014/04/10/pm-announces-initiatives-strengthen-canada-peru-defence-and-security-relations

PM announces initiatives to strengthen Canada-Peru defence and security relations Ottawa, Ontario

10 April 2014 Introduction Prime Minister Stephen Harper together with His Excellency Ollanta Humala Tasso, President of the Republic of Peru, today announced two initiatives that will bolster defence and security relations between Canada and Peru. The announcement was made during President Humala’s State Visit to Canada from April 8 to 11, 2014. More specifically, the leaders announced that Peru’s membership status within Canada’s Military Training and Cooperation Program (MTCP) has been upgraded to Category “A”, effective immediately. As a Category “A” member country of the MTCP, Peru will gain access to the full spectrum of the program's training activities, including opportunities to participate in courses offered to senior officers at the CanadianStaffCollege in Toronto. Prime Minister Harper and President Humala also announced that Canada and Peru will work together to strengthen international efforts to combat the illicit trafficking of nuclear and radiological materials. This cooperation project, which will enhance Peru’s capacity to detect and deter the transfer of nuclear and radiological materials, will be supported by funds that Prime Minister Harper committed towards fighting nuclear terrorism at the March 2014 Nuclear Security Summit. Today’s announcements are consistent with Canada’s commitment to work with partners to strengthen defence, security and institutions in the region, as part of its Strategy for Engagement in the Americas. Quick Facts Defence relations between Canada and Peru are positive and growing, as evidenced by the signing in March 2013 of a Memorandum of Understanding on Defence Cooperation, which provides strategic direction to our bilateral defence relations. It is expected that our bilateral defence relations with Peru will grow in areas such as material procurement, the strengthening of civil-military relations, and cooperation in the context of hemispheric defence institutions such as the Conference of Defence Ministers of the Americas (CDMA), which Peru will host in 2014. The Department of National Defence’s MTCP coordinates and provides training to foreign militaries among developing non-NATO countries. Since Peru's admission to the MTCP in 2005, 88 Peruvian officers have been trained under the auspices of the program. In 2014-2015, because of its upgrade to Category “A”, Peru will be offered 21 positions on MTCP courses in operations training, English language training and civil-military relations training. Canada’s Global Partnership Program is the main mechanism through which Canada supports international efforts to combat the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and related terrorism. Since its establishment in 2002, the Program has provided roughly $970 million for programming to reduce the threat of WMD terrorism. Quote“Canada and Peru enjoy an enduring friendship and growing bilateral relations based on mutual engagement and commitment to regional stability, security and prosperity in the Americas. Today’s announcements will further strengthen defence and security cooperation between our two countries as we continue to work towards these important goals.”

– Prime Minister Stephen Harper Related Products Canada-Peru Defence Relations Canada-Peru Security Relations -

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